Crews are working to make safety improvements along the portion of the highway infamously known as the “coffin corridor.”

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More than 30 people have died in crashes on that stretch of I-95 in the last five years.

Officials with the South Carolina Department of Transportation say it’s one of the most dangerous roadways in the state.

Ridgeland Fire Chief Bradley Bonds sees those crashes first hand.

“With the trees, they’re so close to the roadways, within 10 foot, so when people are traveling at 70 plus miles-per-hour and they strike, they have heavy impact,” Chief Bonds said.

He said having trees in the median and on both sides of the highway creates an unsafe environment for drivers and first responders.

“After a person has an accident, we have to shut a lane down right now, and that bottles up traffic, we have people trying to get around us and it’s not safe for the people who’ve been in an accident but also the responders out there,” Chief Bonds said.

He said he’s grateful SCDOT is now working to make the highway safer. A project is underway to clear trees in the median and on both sides of the highway to create a clear zone that meets national standards and gives drivers a wider margin of error.

There will be nightly lane closures all week, beginning Monday night, between mile markers 22 and 28.

The project will also include the creation of rumble strips on the shoulders and the installation of cable guard railing.

Chief Bonds said it’s a start, but it won’t fix the main issue with I-95 in South Carolina.

“If we look at I-95 really, one of the biggest things is we’re one of the only places that’s only four lanes, so hopefully as the years go by, they’ll have the expansion to six lanes, but this will be the next step as far as getting some of these trees out and having 160 feet to make corrections,” Chief Bonds said.

The project is estimated to cost $9 million and should be complete in February.